WASHINGTON – Cybersecurity issues are getting a renewed focus, thanks to attention from President Obama, who announced proposed legislation earlier this week that would beef up protection against, and response to, cyberthreats. The president was not alone in calling attention to the issue, as members of Congress also made their voices heard at the National Retail Federation conference in New York City. 

Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn and Vermont Rep. Peter Welch, who co-chair the Privacy Working Group of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, took part in a panel discussion about online data and privacy issues at the NRF Show, describing the proposed federal data breach notification legislation as “something we really, really need to do,” according to a report in Forbes.

President Obama’s proposal would require companies to notify customers within 30 days after personal information is compromised. Such notification is mandated now at the state level, and requirements vary by state. A federal mandate would be “simple and straightforward,” Welch said.

The topic is of growing interest among retailers as they weigh new mobile and analytics technologies to help customize marketing and sales efforts. But recent high-profile data breaches, combined with more powerful algorithms enabling retailers to identify customers across a variety of shopping venues, including the internet, mobile devices and physical locations, have illustrated the potentially negative impact of these new technologies.

According to Forbes, Blackburn made the point to NRF Show attendees that privacy-related legislation at the federal level is only a small part of the effort needed to safeguard online data from compromises and crime. She also talked about companies needing to be more open about how data is collected and used, and more proactive in helping consumers navigate the “virtual marketplace,” such as informing them of the importance and application of opt-in and opt-out capabilities.